The Evolution of School Choice in Ohio

Over time, education options in Ohio have expanded more and more. Beginning with private education that started hundreds of years ago to more recently created online schools, Ohio's options have grown to include options that meet student needs and reflect the times of each era.

Through the laws below, Ohio policymakers have built the skeleton of school choice that parents and educators have built on for the past 230+ years.

1828 – The City of Cincinnati opened Ohio’s first vocational school -- the Cincinnati Mechanic’s Institute.

1907 - The state legislature passed the Tuttle Bill, which empowered local school boards to establish and maintain manual training and commercial departments in connection with the local school system.

1917 - Ohio appointed the first State Board of Vocational Education, which entitled Ohio to federal funding for vocational education under the federal Smith-Hughes Act.

1997 – Charter Schools, defined in the Ohio Revised Code as “community schools,” first authorized by the Ohio Legislature.

1999 – A revision provided broader opportunities by permitting the creation of new charter schools in the twenty-one largest urban districts, and by 2000, any district designated by the state as in academic emergency could create a new community school.